For My Family
by firehawk05
Summary: Tiki, reflecting on who his real family is. Spoilers for manga from chapters 91 onwards.


**Author's Note**: Didn't mean to make it this angsty. A 1000 Apologies. Written for Written for **zuri mah frind **for the July round of flashfics on LiveJournal. Spoilers for recent manga, starting with at least chapter 91 onwards

Beta-read by **Raynos**. It occurs to me I forgot to credit my wonderful beta reader in the original flash fic submission. Arrgh.

The blade describes a shining arc in the air. The sheer futility of the attack makes me smirk complacently before invoking my shield+

_  
__How naïve, Allen Walker. To think you could harm me. A Noah. God's chosen race._

My eyes widen as the shield shatters. At first there is no pain. Only the shock of impact. The blow caves in my side. Without warning, the pain comes, gripping me in its savage jaws. Fire blazes up my spine and nerves scream their torment into my skull. The room swims red. Blood red, fringed with black.

Then all of a sudden, the pain is gone, leaving me doubled-up and gasping. With shaking hands I reach for my chest, expecting at any moment to feel a gush of warm blood drenching my gloves.

My questing fingers find nothing. No wound. No blood.

"What was that, I didn't die?" The voice that emerges is barely a whisper. My limbs tingle curiously. Sweat springs up on my brow and prickles on the back of my neck.

"That wasn't a trick." The room continues to spin. Allen's voice seems to come from a great distance, every syllable heavy with the grim finality. The room seems to throb, in time with my pulse, in time with the dull thud in my brain.

"What I destroyed, was what was inside of you."

A male voice screams itself hoarse in the distance. "It can't be mine. I'm a Noah." I think abstractedly before pain picks me up and flings me into darkness.

…

As I leave the clinic, I see a child. Just another ordinary child, in an ordinary petticoat and frock, skipping down the sidewalk, waving a parasol.

Yet, something about her attracts my attention, gives me a curious sensation of déjà vu. I pause, trying to figure out what seems so familiar about her, trying not to stare too hard, trying to look nonchalant, slouching against the building.

_Maybe it's just because she reminds you of the sister you never had. Then again, to have a sister, you'd first need parents. That was unfortunately, another deficiency of yours. _

She stops in front of the sweet shop opposite to stare longingly at the window display, oblivious to my presence.

Before I figure out what it is, the headache is back. As I stumble blindly into a nearby alley, I swear at the useless excuse of a doctor who couldn't even be bothered to listen to my complaint, let alone figure out was wrong. Who had the nerve to dismiss me with a prescription for what was likely to be some quack cure-all. And charge me for it.

The throbbing in my head redoubles. It threatens to split my skull. My knees feel weak and I let myself slide down the wall to huddle in my private world filled with flashing lights and haloes.

"Are you alright, Mister?'" It's that child from earlier. As I look up to meet her eyes, just for an instant, they seem to flash gold, before returning to a more mundane chocolate brown. But it could just be the headache.

A cool hand is laid on my forehead. For a moment, the throbbing recedes.

"Who are you?" I ask, confused. Her only answer is to flash me impish grin before skipping off.

"I'll tell you, when you're ready. Not before." She calls from around the corner.

_  
__…_

The stone floor of the room is cool beneath me, as I lie there drenched and clammy, utterly spent.

Cool fingers thread themselves into my hair, brushing it away from my brow. A soft voice murmurs into my ear.

"You know I like Allen" Road sighs. Her breath, ghosting against my cheek, is warm. It also smells faintly of strawberry, no doubt from the lollipops she favors.

"But, my family is also special to me."

_…_

The button flashes silver in the slanting afternoon light. Spinning, it hovers at the apex of its arc before beginning the inevitable descent.

The Exorcists arrived in the Ark this morning, on schedule. I played my part, introducing them to new rules. Everything went according to plan. For the most part that is. At least, they would have gone smoother had Allen Walker not been there.

_You should have ripped his heart out when you had the chance. Damn it, Tiki, you've gone soft. _

Quiet grey eyes stare unflinchingly into gold from beneath a silver fringe. "I've heard that Noah's are Immortal." He shows no fear. It's, well, uncanny.

_Fine words from someone who survived Tease's ministrations. _

"Oops. If we seem to be immortal," I drawl carelessly, as I turn to leave. "That's only because you are all so weak!"

Road makes me a portal and I abandon them to the already crumbling world. As planned.

The button plops back into my outstretched hand.

_But there is no news from the Earl. _

"He won't let us die. We're his precious sacrificial lambs." Road tries to comfort me from her perch at the window. Still. She won't meet my gaze. Not that I will initiate eye contact anyhow.

The inscription on the button etches itself into my mind. An unspoken accusation.

I say nothing, wishing I shared her child-like faith in the Earl that allowed her to make statements like the one she just made without the slightest hint of irony. Wishing, I dared point out that 'sacrificial lamb' meant that he'd offer our lives quite willingly to achieve his goals. Wishing I could erase the growing feeling of unease that gnawed away at me.

"But Tiki," Road's eyes glint amber, "You're a Noah. Same as me. Same as the rest of us."

_We are the Clan of Noah. The Chosen Ones. United by not only blood, but also by power. Power to be used to carve out a future for all of us. _

I elect to leave further worries unspoken and take a long drag on my cigarette.

_It's just the waiting that gets to you. Once the fighting begins, it'll all come more naturally. And you'll get another chance to rectify your mistake. _

_  
__…_

Drifting, in the timeless void of unconsciousness, I sense Road's fury. Waves of menace radiate from her slight frame even as she crouches near me. Her aura in my mind takes on a distinct predatory feel, one that I've never felt from her before. Never judged her capable of expressing.

Then again, I'd only ever seen her tantrums, only ever seen her as my kid sister. Her powers are impressive for one so young, and a poignant reminder of what I've lost.

The darkness calls to me. Telling me that, just maybe, all is not yet lost.

_What will you trade to have them returned to you? What decisions will you make, knowing full well that every second of inaction dooms your family?_

The memory of a pair of trusting brown eyes in a masked face gazing up at me adoringly makes me hesitate.

_  
__Who is your family? Who are you? Black or White. No more straddling the fence. _

_  
__…_

A sense of movement. A searing heat,that penetrates the void. A shriek. Then the presence I knew as Road vanishes.

_Having two lives, but never quite living one or the other. Is this the way you wish to spend an eternity?_

In that moment, my mind is made up. Road's words echo in my mind. "You're a Noah, same as me."

"My family is also special to me."

_Yes. Give in to me. Do not spurn the gifts of God. Maybe, you can still save your sister. _

With that, the power returns with a vengeance, suffusing me in a heady stream. Like eating rainbows, ribbons of light flow through my veins. It transforms me. Moulds me into a new creation. A creation made in its image.

_  
__I strike now, not for myself, but for the Clan. For my family. For the future. I am a Noah, Chosen of God. We do not fail. _


End file.
